Congratulations new mama! Welcome to the wonderful ride. If you’ve decided to breastfeed your brand new baby, you may have looked into different kinds of pumps and heard about the Elvie wearable breast pump.
The Elvie pump seems like a great buy for moms who pump on the go or at work – it’s small, portable, quiet, and strong – but the price tag might have you wondering if it’s worth it, especially for a product that you can’t really test. Compared to other breast pumps on the market, it’s pretty pricey and may be only partially covered or not covered at all by medical insurance.
There are a lot of great things about the Elvie pump, but there are also some drawbacks you might want to consider before making the investment. Let’s get into it.
Pros Of The Elvie Pump
It’s super quiet
One of the main reasons that the Elvie pumps are great for pumping at work or in public is their quietness. Unless the office itself is very quiet, you really can’t hear it. That gives you a certain level of discreteness that traditional electric pumps don’t have. Our coworkers might know we are pumping, but we don’t need them to know we’re pumping.
It’s easy to put together
There are only five parts to each pump, and once you get the hang of it, it’s a breeze to assemble.
The milk output was pretty good
When comparing traditional electric pumps with wearable pumps, there’s always the possibility that you won’t get as much milk with wearables because of the difference in suction strength. I actually didn’t notice a significant difference in milk volume as long as I ensured a proper fit and assembly.
The charge lasts all day
Even with multiple pump sessions, I’ve never run into an issue with the battery running out on my Elvie as long as I charged it fully the night before.
It can be controlled with an app
If the suction is too strong (or too light) or you need to stop pumping for whatever reason, the Elvie app makes it convenient to adjust those settings from the app without having to manually reach in and change it yourself. That’s particularly helpful if you’re pumping in a more public setting or if your hands are tied up with something else.
I could multitask and move around freely at home
The Elvie pumps are easy enough to fit right into your pumping bra without any additional tubes or plugs, making them ideal for multitasking and moving while pumping. While bending over or more vigorous activities weren’t possible because of the risk of spillage, I could handle most of my housework stuff like laundry, dishes, and preparing food while pumping. As a working mom with only so much time in the evening to get chores done, it was a huge help.
I could multitask at work
Perhaps the biggest benefit of having the Elvie pumps was being able to pump at work and still get actual work done. Pumping while on a Zoom call? Yes. Pumping during a staff meeting? If I really wanted to, yes. I’m a physical therapist and I have even treated patients on the floor while pumping. As long as you bring something to layer with like an oversized jacket, you can do most non-physical tasks comfortably. With new motherhood and the whole process of pumping as isolating as it already is, it was nice to be able to feel like I could still be a “normal” part of the office while also getting mom things done.
I felt less exposed
Even if you decide to isolate yourself in a private office to pump, the process can feel a little awkward because it’s such an intimate experience. There’s always going to be a certain degree of physical exposure with traditional electric pumps – to put it plainly, your nips will be out while your coworkers are one closed door away. That was just not something I could get used to. I was much more relaxed using my Elvie pumps which could be completely covered under my clothing.
I could pump around company
When there’s a new baby in the home, everyone is going to want to come over whether you invite them there or not. That’s all well and good, but if you’re pumping, you know the importance of sticking to a schedule. It always felt a bit rude to disappear for 30 minutes to use my traditional pump, and there also was the uneasiness of not having eyes on my baby with an unfamiliar face in the home. That problem was easily solved with the Elvie pumps – I could still be a gracious host while being close to my baby AND sticking to my pump schedule.
Traveling was easier
I’ve traveled and pumped with both my Spectra and Elvie pumps, and I can tell you with no hesitation that having the Elvie makes traveling MUCH easier. I was able to pump in the car while traveling (not really feasible with my Spectra even though it’s ‘portable’), and just didn’t have as many parts and pieces to pack and worry about.
Good resale value
The price of a brand new set of pumps is quite steep ($549 at the time of this post), so naturally there’s a high demand for used Elvie pumps. There are many online resale communities where you can easily sell your pumps for a decent price once you are done with them.
Cons Of The Elvie Pump
It’s expensive
Perhaps the biggest limiting factor for most moms is the cost of the Elvie pumps. One pump alone runs at $299, and two of these things cost $549. For something that you can’t return after use and that you’re not even sure will work for you, that’s pretty high. And the cost won’t end there – the box comes with one set of everything you need to start pumping, but there is a high possibility that you will have to buy more bottles and pieces if you don’t want to have to worry about cleaning and drying parts at work. After getting multiple sets of accessories, I ended up spending somewhere around $700! It’s not a small expense by any means.
There was a learning curve to it
For every kind of breast pump, there’s going to be a learning curve for first time pumping moms. I found that the curve for the Elvie was a little steeper compared to the traditional Spectra, particularly when it came to positioning the pump correctly. If it didn’t fit just right or if I wasn’t wearing the right kind of pumping bra, the suction was uncomfortable or ineffective (meaning no milk). There’s a lot of trial and error involved in the beginning that I didn’t have with my Spectra. I’d recommend always having a backup in the beginning in case you can’t get it to fit right, but give it a couple weeks before you ditch it.
The sensor didn’t really work that well
On the Elvie device, there is a sensor inside that is supposed to be able to tell you how much milk you’ve pumped, which you can then see on the app. This sensor has literally never worked accurately for me. I’ve tried different bras, different clothes, sitting in different levels of light… I’ve just never been able to get it to work accurately. It has always given me a higher estimate than what’s actually in the bottle, which can be misleading if you are just looking at the app. Despite that, the sensor is good at not allowing the bottle to overflow if it does actually reach its 5 oz capacity.
You probably still need to have a traditional electric pump
I wouldn’t recommend using the Elvie as a main pump, solely based on reliability and consistency compared to a traditional electric pump. You know what you’re getting with a traditional pump – strong suction and pretty consistent volumes. The Elvie can be a little trickier because of its learning curve and dependence on accurate positioning. There’s also the cost of buying multiple sets of bottles and parts if you use the Elvie as a main pump.
The bottles are oddly shaped
This is a minor factor, but still something to consider. Traditional ice packs for storing breastmilk are shaped to accommodate circular bottles, a shape that the Elvie bottles don’t conform to. Again, not really much of a problem, but it was enough of an inconvenience for me to have to transfer the milk after pumping into regular bottles for storage because I just didn’t like how they fit.
Spills and leaks can happen
While I never had an issue with leakage onto my clothing, I did notice that certain movements like bending over slightly could mess with the seal, causing it to stop pumping effectively or lead to spillage from the collection bottle.
The suction can feel pinchy
The suction on the Elvie pumps feels a bit more pinchy than your traditional electric pump, and as you increase the suction strength, the experience gets less and less comfortable. It’s far from unbearable, but it does take a little getting used to. If your nipples are already sensitive from a teething baby or latching problems, you may be limited to the lower suction levels as you adjust.
A single drop of water will make it not work properly
I’m not over-exaggerating this fact – literally one drop of water will cause the Elvie to be ineffective. This means that all the parts and pieces must be completely dry before you put it together to ensure that it works the way it should. That can be difficult if you don’t have a place with decent air circulation to dry them. One way around this is to buy multiples of the parts, but the cost definitely adds up.
There are many pros and cons to consider before buying the Elvie pumps, but overall I had a great experience. I would absolutely use them again and would recommend them to all of my working mom friends.
